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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Byzantium (opens July 12th in Cleveland at the Capitol Theatre)

[BYZANTIUM
opens in Cleveland on Friday July 12th exclusively at the Capitol
Theatre.]

Review
by Bob Ignizio

Director Neal Jordan last delved into the world of tragic bloodsuckers with his big budget adaptation of Anne Rice's
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. He
returns to the genre with his latest film
BYZANTIUM, and while there
are some similarities between the two films, the territory explored
in BYZANTIUM is
largely new. Based on a play by Moira Buffini, who also wrote the
screenplay,the film
is rife with compelling themes – mainly, the sacrifices parents
make for their children and the difficulty of letting them leave the
nest, and to a lesser degree the way women can be marginalized,
excluded, and mistreated by a patriarchal society. While those
subjects are treated with the depth and importance they deserve, they
never overwhelm the dark fantasy/romance tale at the heart of
the story.

The
plot concerns a mother/daughter vampire duo who have been walking the
earth for a good two centuries. Mom Clara (Gemma Arterton) has
endured much for the sake and safety of her eternally sweet-sixteen
daughter Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan), but after 200 years they both might
be better off if the apron strings were cut like the throats of the
humans they prey upon for sustenance. Speaking of the ladies'
victims, Clara makes a point of killing the wicked and the powerful,
while Eleanor acts as something of an angel of mercy, taking those
who are ready to die. Despite being powerful immortals, though, there
is something or someone trailing our vampiric protagonists that keeps
them fearful and ever moving.

After being
involved in an incident likely to attract unwanted attention from
their pursuer(s), Clara decides it is once again time to head for new
hunting grounds. Arriving at a British seaside town, Clara decides
that nebbishy Noel (Daniel Mays) is more useful providing a base of
operations than as her next meal. Meanwhile, Eleanor finds a kindred
spirit in Frank (Caleb Landry Jones), a young man with leukemia.
Interspersed with the present day action are recollections of the
past. These flashbacks are told mostly from Eleanor's point of view
as she carefully writes her story down before scattering the pages to
the wind.

At
times BYZANTIUM
recalls artsy Euro-vampire films of the early seventies like
DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS
or VAMPYRES, only minus
the overt eroticism. There's an aura of macabre poetry
permeating everything, perhaps best exemplified by the wholly
original way in which the film depicts the creation of a vampire.
It's the kind of idea Jean Rollin or Jesus Franco might have
conceived.

Of
course the romance between a 200 year old vampire and a considerably
younger amour, even with the genders reversed, can't help but call to
mind the decidedly more contemporary TWILIGHT
series. The material is handled in a less hormonally overwrought manner here, though. It's also easy to draw parallels with
Jordan's own INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE,
which featured an immortal forever trapped in the body of a
minor as well. The concept is used very differently here, though, being
brought more to the forefront and used to drive home those
aforementioned themes about children and their parents rather than
being the sidebar it was in INTERVIEW.

It adds a few twists of its own to vampire lore, but at its heart
BYZANTIUM is
decidedly old school in its take on the undead, and that's just fine. Its vampires don't
turn into hideous, hyperactive CGI monstrosities at the drop of a
hat, but rather use deception and seduction to hunt their victims
unobtrusively. The film is book-ended by a couple of reasonably
intense action scenes, and it doesn't shy away from
gore and violence when called for. For the most part, though, BYZANTIUM
moves at a leisurely pace and keeps its focus on character, story,
and theme. That may sound dull to some, but to this viewer it's a welcome
change of pace. 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.